


Forget what's real

by Orangetornado



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fantasy, Fluff, I'm not quite sure how to describe this, soonhao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 10:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15192842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orangetornado/pseuds/Orangetornado
Summary: It's a place where The8 can do whatever he wants





	1. Chapter 1

_I love this_

Minghao thought as he relaxed back into the comfy chair of their beautiful living room. The seventeen members were allowed this time to relax and they were making the best of it. There were members splayed across the floor or stretched out on sofas. Just generally enjoying their relaxation. There were some snacks on the little side tables to which some dipped nachos in guacamole while others dipped strawberries in chocolate and so on. Some fantasy film was playing for anyone who wanted to pay attention. Others would just play small games with eachother.

Minghao sighed in contentment. Yep, everything was just right in the world. Seokmin was looking particularly cheerful today. Wonwoos hair seemed to be looking good in the lighting. However, Minghao would rather be looking at Soonyoung next to him. His Hoshi. He smiled fondly at the latter then brought a hand up to brush his hair behind his ear. Soonyoung looked to Minghao, raised his eyebrows a little confused but smiled back anyway, crinkling his eyes, just the way Minghao loved.

He watched as Soonyoung reached for a strawberry on the little table, dipped it in the chocolate and bit into it. Chocolate got smeared all over his mouth. Minghao giggled.

"Hm? What's up?" Soonyoung asked, finishing the strawberry.

"You're cute, hyung." Minghao replied.

Soonyoung smiled and nodded with pride. "So I'm told."

"There's chocolate all over your mouth."

"Oh, really? I'll go get a napkin"

"Never mind that." Minghao said confidently, before taking Soonyoungs head and bringing it closer to his. He started at the corner, then licked across Soonyoungs lips, clearing away all the chocolate. He continued licking, long and slow, enjoying the moment. Because he could.

This was his world.

He figured, after tasting the sweetness of Hoshis lips, he may aswell indulge in a kiss, which he did. He leisurely pressed his lips to Soonyoungs, but stopped once he realised something was off. Usually, Soonyoung would be responding just as passionately by now, but he remained unmoving. Minghao pulled back in confusion, only to be met with a wide eyed, red faced Soonyoung at a loss for words as his mouth hung open.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!" someone yelled, startling Minghao. He hadn't even realised they'd all gone silent as they witnessed the unusual display that had just taken place. Minghao looked around the room, all eyes were on him (except for someone covering Chans eyes). At that point, realisation and dread set in.

This was not his world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll explain what's going on later


	2. Chapter 2

This was Minghaos world. 

Everything was just a little more perfect than normal. Whatever he imagined was possible. In fact, sometimes he'd grow some wings and fly like a bird while he had the other birds surrounding him sing highlight. Jun and Mingyu would appear at either side of him, then they'd have fun racing eachother amongst the clouds. Of course, this isn't the real Mingyu or Jun. But hey, that's the fun of it. They're both older than him but he could speak so informally to them without a second thought. It was weird for him at first, when he first discovered this world, but it was fun to get used to. 

In this world, he could go to China and meet his family anytime he wants. Yes, it may not be his real family, but it still helped a lot when he was missing them. It's nice to enjoy his mother's lovely cooking more often.  
Here, there's nothing holding him back. It's a place where he could simply tell Soonyoung how he feels about him. 

"Yo Soon, mind if I kiss you? I really like you and I've been wanting to do that for a long time."  
Fake Hoshi just laughed a bit then welcomed Minghao in with open arms. Sure, he'd prefer if it were the real Soonyoung. If only it were that easy. But that would be selfish, right? They're idols, starting a relationship would be too risky. And besides, Soonyoung probably wouldn't feel the same way at all. In fact, Minghao's never seen Soonyoung take an interest in anyone in that way. So being in this world with him was a little satisfying for now. Eventually, he'd really feel the need to tell the real Soonyoung and hope they'd still be cool with eachother. He couldn't imagine losing a friend like Hoshi, who's helped him through so much.

He treated this place as somewhere he could be with Soonyoung without the complications. Also a place where he could speak to coups with no honorifics. Crazy right.  
Unfortunately, lines can become a little blurry between this world and the real world. Especially, when Minghao's gotten so used to doing whatever he wants within one world, to return to normal in another world could be a little difficult. Thus, there are always the odd occasions where he forgets what's real and lets something slip. For instance:  
Minghao gave Seungkwan a long look. "Take it from the fashion master, Seungkwan, you shouldn't wear that shirt. It doesn't go well with a lot."  
Seungkwan looked taken aback. "But you just said yesterday that you loved this shirt!"  
"I uh... had a change of heart... Sorry?" Minghao tried covering up his mistake.  
Yes, it was times like these where Minghao had mistakenly thought he was in his own world. Which, of course, lead to the current events taking place. (See previous chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like a bird


	3. Chapter 3

So there they sat in silence, all looking towards Minghao, Minghao looking at the rest of them. This lasted for an agonising ten seconds, until Minghao looked down towards his fiddling hands on his lap and spoke.

"I-I didn't mean to- I'm so sorry- Soonyoung hyung, I... I'm sorry..." he said while still looking downwards, his face completely red. He couldn't bear to face Soonyoung right now, or the rest of them for that matter. How could he have made such a fatal mistake as to shamelessly kiss Soonyoung in front of the other members. Minghao generally doesn't cry, but he was most likely on the verge of tears by now.

Hoshi seemed to finally snap out of his shock. He tentatively placed a hand on Minghaos shoulder and brushed down his arm in a comforting manner, which made Minghao look back up to him. "Minghao-ah... What's this about? Is their something you need to tell me?"

Seungcheol then got up at sat down on the other side of Minghao. "Hey," he said softly, "Do we need to talk about this?" Minghao nodded. They both stood up to make their way to coups room. "You guys, just carry on chilling. Don't dwell in this too much, okay." he said as he lead Minghao out.

 _That was so nerve wracking!_ Minghao thought. As they entered the room, he might have actually shed a tear if it weren't for Seungcheol who was already hugging him by now. He sat them down on the edge of the bed.

"So, I take it you really like Soonyoungie, right?" he said with a small smile.

Since he was still in coups arms, Minghao nuzzled into him to hide his face from embarrassment. "Yeah, really."

"But, I mean have you even told him? That was a bit excessive, what you did back there. And Soonyoung did look really surprised."

Minghao groaned and put his head in his hands. "I haven't told him, hyung. This was just a mistake." To clear up confusion, Minghao decided it was about time to explain to their leader exactly what he was experiencing. He described the other world that he enters whenever he wants, where everything is as vivid as real life but nothing was actually real. Thus, it gets easy to mix up where you are and you can start to behave like you wouldn't normally.

To Minghaos surprise, Seungcheol didn't look at him like he's insane but instead just listened well. "Okay, so how do you find this other world?"

"When I close my eyes and think about about it."

"So you're imagining it?"

"It's not imagining, I'm really, physically there. My body would still be in the real world though, it would just look like I'm sleeping. I know this isn't just imagination because I haven't had this forever, something needs to trigger your ability to go."

"And what might that be?"

"You have to want something so badly that you just find yourself there."

This made Seungcheol think for a second. "I see. What is it that you wanted?"

Minghao blushed and looked down. "Soonyoung hyung." he said quietly. "But I must have completely messed up our relationship. Maybe he hates me now."

"That's impossible, Hao hao." coups said while pulling Minghao in for a hug. "We will figure something out for you and Soonyoungs relationship, but right now, I think it's important we discover more about this world of yours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be firemen


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure about this, hyung? None of them will believe me." Minghao said nervously as he was lead back to the others.

"I mean, I'm open minded enough to learn more about this so I think they can be too. Don't worry about it. Just tell them everything you told me." Seungcheol replied.

Minghao hung his head low. "Even the part about Soonyoung hyung?"

Coups patted his shoulder. "You don't have to do that right now, okay." Minghao nodded.

They arrived back at the living and S.coups got the members attention. "Hey guys, so I know what happened earlier came as a shock but Minghao does have an explanation for it." Then he gestured for Minghao to start.

Minghao gulped and began to tell what he told coups. The story of the other world and the many things that are possible there. Throughout his explanations, he could not make eye contact with Soonyoung.

"Minghao-ah..." Jun started, Since Minghao'd finished. "I think you may be just imagining this. Imagination can be really strong, and can even feel real, so it's probably just-"

"Take me seriously, Junhui." Minghao cut him off.

"Wha- That's hyung to you!"

Joshua came to stand next to Minghao and held his arm gently. "I think he's right, Hao hao. Don't you think a whole other world is a bit too much?"

Minghao sighed. _Shua hyung is alway so kind to me, but it would be nice if he believed me this time_ , he thought. "I'm telling the tru-"

"What happened to Chan?!!" Jeonghan yelled suddenly, alerting everyone. They looked to see Chan lying across Jeonghans lap asleep.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on?" Seungcheol asked as they rushed towards the scene.

"I don't know, he just passed out all of a sudden." Jeonghan started trying to shake Chan awake. "Channie baby, please wake up."

"Wait wait stop, don't wake him up." said Minghao. Jeonghan looked at him confused. "Don't worry, I think I know where he is."

Minghao rode across the flower fields on his floating dolphin, searching the area. "Chan! Channie, where are you?!" Then Minghao remembered he could do anything, so he willed his voice to reach every corner of the world. "CHAN!"

"Here I am!" There Minghao found Chan hanging upside-down from a tree by his monkey tail. He has a monkeys tail...

Minghao jumped up to meet him there and sit on the branch beside him. "You made it here!"

Chan shrugged. "I believed you. I thought of something I really wanted and somehow ended up here. Does this mean I guess to come here anytime I want now?"

Minghao was still trying to get his head around this. He never imagined he'd tell anyone else about this, let alone for them to believe him. "Well, sure, I guess so. This is pretty weird to me because I always just imagine all of you guys into this world since I'm always alone. Now that you're here, I guess that means I don't need to be imagining you."

Chan nodded in understanding. "Oh I get it. So I can just imagine someone right now and they'll just appear?"

"Yo guys, whatcha talking about?" Soonyoung said, suddenly appearing next to Minghao.

"I didn't imagine him." Chan said, rather shocked.

Soonyoung then leaned forth and placed a kiss upon Minghaos cheek, to which Minghao swiftly responded by pushing him off the tree, where Hoshi subsequently exploded into confetti.

Chan watched the scene unfold in utter bewilderment. He was about to express his shock when he noticed Minghao looking down and blushing. "You didn't need to see that..."

Chans mind went back to the events that occurs just previously between Soonyoung and Minghao. So this is how the mistake happened. Chan patted Minghao on the back. "I completely understand, hyung. Shall we get back?"

They both opened their eyes to see Jeonghan looking down at them. "They're awake!" he said to the others before turning back to them. "Guys, what happened?"

Chan smiled. "I saw the other world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you eaten a tangerine today?


	5. Chapter 5

Jeonghan looked at Dino with a little concern. "So... You imagined the same thing Hao hao imagined?"  
"I thought he already told you it's not imagination." Chan said, pointing to Minghao. "Seriously, hyung, you have to try this, it's great. Think of something you want the most and you might find it too. You really can do seemingly impossible things there!"  
"What, like flying?" Mingyu deadpanned.  
"I did fly!" Chan retorted as convincingly as he could.  
Jihoon then rolled his eyes. "I think this is getting too much. A little creepy too how both you and Hao came up with the same thing."  
"There's another one down!" Vernon yelled this time. He pointed to the sleeping Seungkwan who had collapsed next to him.  
Minghao gave a knowing smile. "He must have gone too. I'll see if I can find him." Before closing his eyes, he smirked to the others. "You guys come follow me if you feel like."

"Seungkwanie! Come on out, wherever you are. It's me, Minghao!"  
"WHERE AM I?!" A very loud, very panicked voice came from behind him. Ah, Seungkwan of course.  
Minghao laughed and gave him a hug. "Hey, no need to freak out. I told you this place is real." he said triumphantly.  
Seungkwan started to calm down as they went to sit on a bench that manifested itself out of some vines. He looked around himself, finally taking in the breathtaking scenery. He breathed in deeply, as though he was taking the atmosphere. "This place really is..."  
"Yeah, I was the same when I first got here." Minghao replied with understanding. 

"Yo yo yo, my charming bros! How's it hanging?" Dino sang while hopping off his polar bear.  
Seungkwan looked baffled. "How are you so used to this place already?! Didn't you just come once before? And that was a few moments ago."  
Chan shrugged. "Dunno, I got the jist of what kinda place this was when Minghao hyung explained it before. But really, you could easily get used to doing whatever you want for a little while right?"  
Seungkwan shrugged and hummed in agreement  
"Speaking of wanting stuff," Minghao started, "What is it that you guys wanted so badly to end up here anyway?"  
Seungkwan started to blush a bit and fiddled with his fingers as if contemplating whether to answer that question. "When I tried getting here, I was thinking of... Ver-"  
"Whoa! This is cool!" another voice cut in. It was the cheerful voice of Seokmin who was currently swinging on a vine on his way towards the three boys on the bench.  
"Yay! Join the club." Chan said excitedly. 

Minghao was starting to feel a little unsettled. He'd only ever imagined other people in his world, no other person had actually been there. Sure it's great that all of his brothers get to enjoy this other worldly experience, but he never intended to reveal it to them at all. Normally, he could do things like vent out his frustrations, practice what he was going to say to Hoshi, and so on. But now that the real members are here, he wonders how he would be able to do that. 

Joshua arrived, casually riding a segway. "I figured since Seokmin just passed out, I may aswell try it out myself."  
And it continued like that. More and more members appearing out of nowhere. It's seemed that as more people made it to the world, more people wanted to try. Even Jihoon arrived amongst them.  
Soonyoung was there... They were all there. 

They were all in his world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really describe what the world looks like because, whatever you think it is, it's probably that


	6. Chapter 6

It was about time Minghao talked to Soonyoung about the events that took place. It's pretty difficult to hide your crush on someone when you'd just recently licked chocolate off their face like they were a whole snack. Which is why he teleported them to an area far enough from the other members so they won't be heard. In the clouds to be exact.

They stole quick glances at eachother, neither of them confident enough to start speaking. So they just sat in awkwardness for a while.   
"Uh..." Soonyoung started, "How are we able to sit on the clouds? It feels like really thick fluff."  
"It is." Minghao answered. "Well, this one is at least."  
Soonyoung nodded and focused once again on the fluff they were sitting on.  
Minghao took in a deep breath. "Okay, I'm sorry, Soon hyung. I know I shouldn't have just kissed you out of the blue, and that must have been very shocking. I really didn't realise at the time that I was in the real world. M-maybe it would have made more sense if I had already told you how much I like you... perhaps love." that last part he said with a much smaller voice. "I shouldn't have hidden how I felt about you, I'm sorry. I mean, 'cause you probably don't like me like that, and that's just fine. I didn't want to bother you by telling you but, well, you've always been so kind to me and we've been so close, I couldn't imagine life without you and I just couldn't help falling for you- Hey, what the heck!" he abruptly ended his speech upon seeing a giggling Soonyoung before him. All nervousness went down the drain at this point. "I just gave you the speech of a lifetime and you're laughing!!"

"No no, I'm not laughing at you." Hoshi said reassuringly. "It's just, I was thinking... Do you kiss me like that a lot when you're in this world?"   
The question threw Minghao off guard. He was beyond embarrassed now. It was like all his thoughts and secrets were laid out on a table and Soonyoung was casually shuffling through them.   
Minghao coughed and blushed before speaking. "I guess I... sometimes..." in other words, everyday.   
"What else do you do with me?"  
Minghao felt really on the spot here. "We, uh, sometimes hold hands."  
He felt Soonyoungs fingers lace through his own. "What else?"  
"We hug eachother sometimes."  
Soonyoung wound one arm around Minghaos waist, pulling him closer while still holding his hand with the other. "What else?"  
Minghaos face started to heat up. Hoshi was grinning in the way that made his eyes dissappear. Just the way Minghao couldn't resist. "Sometimes we'd watch the stars together."  
Soonyoung didn't break eye contact with Minghao but the sky around them began to dim in brightness, until it was a deep midnight blue, where all the stars were clear and the moon was large and round in the distance.   
Soonyoung inched his face closer to Minghaos, stopping when their noses touched. "Is this when we kiss?"   
Minghao bit his lip before Soonyoung kissed him softly. Which soon escalated in passion. He could use tongue, right? He could do anything he wants right? 

By the time they'd finished that make out session, they were laying down in the clouds with their hair tangled and clothes dishevelled from all the clawing at eachother. Minghao panted out of breath then laughed. "So does that mean-"  
"If there's anyone I like, it's you Hao. I really do love you. I mean, how else do we fit together so well when we dance?"   
They both chuckled.   
Soon continued. "You know, dates here would probably be hella awesome."  
Minghao had on a very satisfied smile. "I'll take you riding on a shooting star next time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like ocean waves


	7. Chapter 7

"Who'd have thought that we'd both want this." S.coups laughed as he relaxed back into his beach chair.

...

A few days had passed since everyone had managed to enter the other world, and they'd been passing in and out whenever they could. Seungcheol arrived on the white sand beach with crystal clear water, the suns intensity was just right. A set of beach chairs and umbrellas were set up just for him. As a fluffy pink cloud flew by, Seungcheol held out his cone to collect the snow that fell from it. Strawberry flavoured. It was when he sat down that he noticed he was not alone.

Jeonghan shifted his sunglasses up to his hair winked at the surprised face of Seungcheol. Turns out, they had both wanted some alone time from the kids. They both used it to the fullest.

After relaxing under the shade, Jeonghan had splashed a bucket of water on coups, causing them to end up in a water fight. Which somehow lead to them having a swimming race (Jeonghan's competitive). They were now washed up on shore, out of breath from swimming to the bottom of the ocean to find sea monsters and see if they could escape them.

  
Coups looked fondly at Jeonghan beside him. He picked up a pretty looking seashell. "Here, this reminded me of you."  
Jeonghan rolled his eyes but smiled anyway at Seungcheols cheesiness and took the shell, turning it around in his hands. "Hm, thanks."  
"If you look closely, it has your name on it."  
"Really? Where?" Han started searching around the shell. With his name nowhere to be found, he frowned. "Yo, whatcha messing with me for?"  
But he looked up, he saw a large display of his name with hearts on either side, completely composed of seashells. Doves flew above carrying flowers of various pastel colours and the petals fell like rain drops. Jeonghan grew angel wings of his own a glided over to Seungcheol, crashing into him cuz he doesn't know how to fly. They tumbled on the floor in a fit a laughter before Jeonghan pulled coups into a tight hug. "Ah my sweet Cheollie, you're so romantic! Give me a kiss!" he grabbed at coups, making kissing faces jokingly.  
Cheol held back Jeonghans arms, his face going serious suddenly. "Hanie... Can I really?"  
Jeonghan scratched his head hesitantly. "Well, hehe, I was just, uh... I g-guess it's not that big of a deal, right. Don't we kiss all the time?"

Seungcheol contemplated whether he should really continue with this. Sure, they kissed eachother on the cheek or forehead or hair or something. But never for real. "Jeonghan-ah, you know I love you, right?"  
"I know. Isn't it just expected though? All the kids look up to the two of us as unofficial parents to them, so naturally, we're just kinda paired together all the time. But I've never actually thought about it."  
Seungcheol fiddled with the strands of Jeonghans hair and looked into his eyes in a very puppy-like manner. "Well, since we're here, we could definitely... think about it." he stroked a hand down Jeonghans arm in suggestion.  
Jeonghan giggled and swatted his hand off playfully, then gave Cheol a peck on the lips. "I love you too Cheollie. Clearly more than we've been letting on since we met eachother. But, you do realise, this right now, is only confined to this place. Whenever we leave here-"  
Coups gave him another kiss. He understood what Jeonghan was saying but he'd rather not think about that at that moment. "Let's just stay here a little longer, okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's do some push ups


	8. Chapter 8

Mingyu found Wonwoo sitting on the couch in the living room, wearing his glasses, reading a book that looks like smart people would read.  
  
 "Hey, hyung, where are Seungcheol hyung and Jeonghan hyung? I haven't seen them all day. They never said they were going somewhere today." Mingyu asked while flopping himself down onto the couch by Wonwoo.  
  
Wonwoo looked up from his book, peaking over his glasses. "You can find them in one of their bedrooms "sleeping". Though, they're in the other world I believe. They've actually been there since yesterday."  
  
"Ah, seriously! They can't be spending so long there. We've got to practice for our promotions. What could they even be up to over there that's keeping them so long?"  
  
Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Mingyu, have you even thought about it? It's a whole other world, and quite frankly, a better one. Literally anything you could ever imagine in your wildest dreams can happen. Why wouldn't they want to stay for long? I understand that they do need to be back here, but they gotta have some time to let out all those pent up feelings they've been holding for so long."  
  
"Wait, what? Feelings? You mean... those two-"  
  
Wonwoo groaned in frustration. "Could it be more obvious? It's clear the two of them have had a deep love for each other for long enough. It's clear they've been holding back for the sake of our group, so we don't get caught up in any drama or "scandals"." His voice was starting to raise. "Honestly, sometimes it just got painful watching them lying to themselves. Being cautious around each other, pretending they feel nothing!"  
  
"Okay, okay, I understand, but why are you yelling? Is it really bothering you that much?" Mingyu put a hand on Wonwoos thigh to try to calm him down.  
  
Wonwoo sat up on his knees on the couch, the book forgotten and discarded on the floor. "Because it's ridiculous, Mingyu! Can't you see? We're restricted. The kind of things we're able to do in that world, we can't do here. And I'm not talking about building snowmen out of lava, I'm talking about their relationship. We are idols. It's unorthodox here, it's uncommon... two men..." His ranting voice died down a lot when saying the last part.  
  
Mingyu kept eye contact, he couldn't look away. He'd never seen Wonwoo so worked up about a topic like this. Two men... like Seungcheol and Jeonghan. Like Soonyoung and Minghao. Like him and Wonwoo... During the rant, Wonwoo had been getting closer. He was leaning against Mingyu by a hand gripping his thigh. Wonwoo sighed and looked down, backing up a bit. "I didn't mean to yell, sorry. It's just tough, you know. In this world right here. I can never say exactly what I'm feeling. Then we can never be more tha-"  
  
"We?" Mingyu cut him off. It dawned on Wonwoo what he had said. He hadn't meant to say that. Mingyu grabbed Wonwoos hand before he made an excuse to leave. "Hyung, you mean we, as in us? The two of us together?" He said softly  
  
_Well, there's no use in denying it now,_ Wonwoo thought. Though his heart was racing, he took in a slow breath. "Yes, that's what I mean."  
  
Mingyu pulled him forward so he fell onto Mingyus chest and they laid on the couch. A blush was creeping onto Wonwoos face as he tried not to make eye contact. But Mingyu put his hands to either side of Wonwoos face so they faced each other. _This is too good to be true. Is this really happening right now?_ Mingyu thought. "Is- is this the real world?" Mingyu breathed. "Am I dreaming? Am I in the other world right now?" He tentatively touched Wonwoos face and brushed a hand over his hair as if to test his suspicions.  
Wonwoo put a hand on Mingyus chest, feeling his heartbeat. "I don't know." He said back quietly. "We might be."  
Mingyu put a hand behind Wonwoos neck and pulled him closer so their noses were touching. "Do- do you feel nervous?"  
Wonwoo shook his head. "No, somehow I feel comfortable."  
"Then this must be the other world, right."  
Wonwoo smiled as he moved down to press their lips together. He could feel Mingyu smile a little as well. He felt comfortable, confident, free. Mingyus fingers caressing through his hair seemed to gently wipe away any anxious thoughts he had before hand.

He'd forgotten about and previous tension when he kissed along Mingyus jaw and Mingyu let out a contented sigh. There was nothing to worry about, especially in this special world. _In all honesty, it wouldn't even matter if we were in the real world. This moment is just too good_. Wonwoo thought.  
  
The sudden sound of a clipboard falling to the ground jolted the two boys apart.  
  
_On second thought_  
  
"What is going on here?" Their manager exclaimed in shock from across the room. Okay, so this was definitely not the other world. Neither of them spoke, not knowing what to say. The manager put a finger and thumb to the bridge of her nose and huffed. "Nevermind, just try to keep this out of the public eye, alright?"  
  
They both quickly nodded in compliance before she made her exit.  
  
Mingyu coughed and picked Wonwoos book off the floor to hand it back to him as they awkwardly shuffled apart. They sat for about 20 seconds before Wonwoo broke the silence. "I should probably explain myself-"  
"Don't worry about it." Mingyu said with a warm smile, gently placing his hand over Wonwoos. "There's somewhere else we can talk about this."  
Wonwoo nodded shyly. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...getting closer... (3_3)


	9. Chapter 9

Seokmin paced back and forth, contemplating how to go about such a task. This should look more   romantic, right? he thought. With that thought, he walked around the butterfly glade in the shape of a heart, and with each step a bunch of roses grew in his path. He took a step back to asses his work.  
Eh, probably too much.  
With the sweep of a hand, he erased the scene. He instead replaced it with an array of white lilies dotted about the area. Reminds him of Joshua somehow. Maybe the prettiness of them, or the elegance. Perhaps some blue bells. They look pretty. He had the blue bells encircle the glade. Then they grew until they were taller than him so they looked like big purple umbrellas facing in towards the vibrant green grass and lilies. Actually, it was kinda creepy but it'll have to do.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll call him now. Or wait, should I make myself look more handsome first? No, that's dumb, I'd still look the same in real life."  
"But you look really handsome anyway!" he heard Joshua yell to him.  
"Alright, I know you're just saying that cuz it's what I want to hear!" He yelled back.  
"Suit yourself!"  
Seokmin took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Come out Joshua!"  
Joshua emerged from the ground, rising up like a flower. "What's up, Seok!"  
Seokmin scratched his head nervously. "Hey, hyung, uh, would you like to follow me?" He lead Joshua inside the enclosed glade in which the blue bell leave made way for them in a rippling manner.  
"Wow Seok, this looks amazing. What's this all for?"  
"I figured with how handsome you are, you at least deserved something as handsome as you- wait no, flowers aren't _handsome_. Ugh, way to be smooth, Seok. Let me start again."  
Joshua chuckled. "Sure you can, I don't mind. What exactly are you trying to say anyway?"  
Seokmin rocked on his feet uncomfortablely. "Well, hyung, I don't really know how to tell you..."  
"It's alright, Seokminie," he raised a hand to rest on Seokmins arm comfortingly. "You can tell me anything, right?"  
"Yeah, but it's kinda hard when you're looking at me like that."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Oh, I know!" Seokmin brought his hand to Joshuas face, swiped said hand across his eyes till his eyes were erased. Simple as rubbing out a pencil drawing.  
  
Though the sight of Joshua without his eyes was quite horrifying, it would have to do. "There, now it should be easier."  
Joshua whipped his head back and forth. "Whoa, I didn't know you could do that! I can't see anything."  
"Shush hyung, I'm trying to think of the best way to confess to you."  
"Confess? Do you like me? Is that what you're confessing?"  
Seokmin gasped. "Oh dang, I forgot you can still hear." He placed his hands over Joshuas ears. When he removed them, the ears were gone.  
"There, that's better." He took a deep breath, "Okay so, yeah I do like you but it's always been so hard for me to tell you this because of how perfect you are. But, I guess it's easy like this, since I know this isn't the real you but," he took both of Joshuas hands, pressed a kiss to each, "it feels real. And maybe, sometime soon, I'll be able to tell this to the real you. I just hope you'll-"  
"Hey, Seokmin," Joshua interrupted. "I don't know whether you're talking right now or not but just so you know, if you like me, I would like it if you tell me. You said you were going to confess and I felt those kisses just now. I like that you feel that way, I mean if you do. I also feel like that. I like you Seok-ah. So would you let me see and hear you now?"  
  
Seokmin felt like tearing up and his hyungs words. It meant so much to him but there was still that small ache in his heart at the knowledge that he'd have to wake up from this and face reality. And in reality, it wasn't this simple.  
Joshua felt along Seokmins body to reach his face and feel him nod. Then, he swiped his hand across his own face, and his eyes and ears returned.  
Seokmin sighed. "Yes, I did confess to you just now. I like you too."  
Joshuas hands came back up to Seokmins face. "Then why do you look so sad?"  
"Because, I'm not confident and I wouldn't be able to say this to the real you."  
Joshua tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean "the real me"? I'm right here."  
"No you're n- hang on, I'm sure I imagined you here."  
  
Joshua was casually wandering around the other world when he heard Seokmins voice in the distance. He teleported to his location but staying underground so as to not startle Seokmin. Looking upwards, he saw Seokmin pacing around in thought, muttering things to himself about how he could make the scenery look better. Honestly, what he could see was quite beautiful. Amongst the mutters, he heard his own name. What could Seok be talking about.  
He later heard things about Seokmin doubting his own good looks. Now that was crazy. He had to respond with his own thoughts. Surprisingly, Seokmin didn't sound startled at all by his voice. Was he expecting Joshua? That theory prices try when Joshua was called out to meet him. _Had he known I was here the whole time?_ Josh thought before emerging from underground.  
Seok was being confusing. First he was hearing all these kind things from him, then suddenly he was blind and deaf. But ultimately, what he picked up from all the confusion is, perhaps Seokmin likes him just as much as he likes Seokmin.  
  
"Wait, so you mean to say it's been the real you the whole time? And I just gave you a co version that was so not perfect!" Seokmin cried into his hands.  
Joshua laughed and pried his hands from his face. "No Seokie, it's perfect. I mean look at all this," he gestures around him at the current scene, "It's beautiful, Seok-ah, and um, so are you." He looked down, embarrassed by his cheesy words.  
Seokmin smiled brightly, hugged Josh tightly and kissed his forehead. "Aw, Shua hyung~ you're too sweet. Though, now that we both know how we feel, how about we go on a date in the real world."  
Joshua gave a shy nod and his perfect smile. "Let's go"


	10. Chapter 10

"You understand why you're being called in for this meeting, right?" their manager spoke out to them.  
They sat silently around the table, two of them in particular feeling quite ashamed. They had all seen the articles surfacing about Seungkwan and Vernon being caught on a date at a cafe nearby. Even though they could both enter the other world and do anything in their wildest dreams, they really wanted to try going on a normal date like they weren't celebrities. So even if it wasn't quite real, it felt real enough to them, as if they could date in real life. However, the fact is, it really was real this time. They'd simply went on an actual date without a care in the world, with the mindset that they weren't _in_ the world.  
  
"But, it's not proven to really be a date." Vernon said sheepishly.  
"You were holding hands most of the time" the manager rebutted.  
"That can mean anything." Seungkwan added.  
"You were sharing the same drink with two straws."  
Both Seungkwan and Vernon didn't know how to respond to this.  
The manager sighed. "I've noticed a bit of a change in the behaviour around here. Sure you're all affectionate people but it's been getting a little out of hand lately. I've seen Junhui walking around in pirate costume saying "because he can". And Chan has been talking back to his elders."  
"But he always does that." Jihoon argued.  
"Yes, but it's even more so now."  
  
Minghao fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. He couldn't help but feel like this was all his fault. He's the one who introduced them to this world of desires. But is it really a bad thing? His members were happy now, right? They were doing what they wanted, being with who they want, at the cost of a few slip ups here and there. But that's not such a big deal, they can just make up an excuse. He held Soonyoungs hand under the table for comfort.  
  
Coups spoke up. "Pledis doesn't have a dating ban, right? So I don't see the problem."  
"Yes, I know, but it's the carats feelings we need to consider. Imagine how they'd feel knowing they have no chance with their oPpaR."  
Wonwoo gave a strange look. "But did they ever?"  
"That's not the point. Fans will believe what they will and we can't go crushing their dreams."  
"So we're selling them dreams?" Seokmin chimed in. "That's not very nice, we should just be honest with them."  
"The industry is a bit more complicated than that. Which means there's going to need to be some changes."  
Seungkwan gasped and looked at Vernon worriedly. "Are you saying we have to-"  
"No no, remember, there is no dating ban. If you're already dating, we're not going to ask you to stop, you just need to keep or on a much lower profile than you currently are. We can't be having these sporadic changes in behaviour, understand?"  
  
The members looked downtrodden and defeated. Like there was nothing they could do at this point. Perhaps it was best if they stopped going to that world to avoid all the confusion.  
  
Minghao suddenly sprung up from his seat slamming his hands on the table. "It was me!!"  
The manager jumped back in shock. "Minghao, what are you talking about?"  
"I told them about the other world that you can enter if you have a strong enough desire. This world isn't physical, you can reach it with your mind. In this world, you can do impossible, unimaginable things!"  
"I could grow a tail!" Chan added.  
"I got some sleep." Jeonghan said.  
"I finally got to ride a rainicorn for the second time." Vernon joined.  
"You see," Minghao continued, "it's simply the fact that we can switch between worlds that's causing some minor confusion. You understand right?"  
  
The managers eyes were as big as two worlds themselves. He coughed, scratched his head then went to pace back and forth a bit. Then he stopped and turned back to all of them.  
"Aight, everybody to the cars."  
"What? Why? Where are we going?" Seungcheol asked.  
"To the hospital, come on, let's get moving."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you learned to knit yet?


End file.
